Fate's Thief
by snickermoon814
Summary: What would have happened if the Doctor said yes to Christina's wish to travel with him? Semi-AU seasons 5 and 6, only with the Tenth Doctor instead.
1. Prologue: Stealing Fate

The Planet of the Dead.

Oh, it has another name, but the Lady Christina de Souza doesn't care about it. All she can think about is that it was the planet that brought her to the Doctor. The Doctor, the Time Lord, the magnificent man with fantastic hair who waltzed into an impossible situation and made it possible and so much more. How is it that a man who knows and has seen so much could look so sad and lost? She thinks she knows, but it is not until they return to Earth that she finds out for sure.

They climb out of the bus; the passengers are crying and laughing with relief. Christina runs to the Doctor, who is leaning against a blue police box. She can hear Macmillan saying in the background, "She is not getting away this time," but she ignores it. Instead, she plants herself in front of the Doctor and says, "Little blue box, just like you said. Right then. Off we go. Come on, Doctor, show me the stars."

He gives her a sad look. "No."

"What?"

"I said no."

"But… I saved your life," Christina protests, confused. "And you saved mine."

He's still giving her that look. "So?"

"We're surrounded by police. I'll go to prison," she says desperately.

"Yeah," the Doctor agrees quietly.

"But you were right," the thief argues. "It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today with you…" She sighs. "I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this. We're made for each other, you said so yourself. The perfect team." Oh, how she wished he would stop looking at her like that! "Why not?"

He finally looks her in the eye and there is something in them that is shattered, broken beyond repair. "People have travelled with me and I've lost them," he responds hoarsely. "Lost them all. Never again."

That detective, that irritating pest of a detective walks up to them and says loudly, "Lady Christina de Souza. Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft. You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away."

She's about to let herself be handcuffed when a voice whispers urgently in her head: "Don't let him go." She blinks, shaking herself. She must be more rattled by her day than she thought. But then it comes again: "Go with him. His song is ending soon, but it doesn't have to. However, if you let him leave without you, it _will_ end." Christina stops in mid-step. She's not averse to having a conversation with herself, but this is unusual, even for her. It doesn't even sound like her thoughts. She looks back to the Doctor, a thoughtful expression on her face. He raises an eyebrow. "Hold on a sec," she says to the man trying to cuff her. He tries to argue, but she darts back up to the Time Lord leaning against his blue box.

"Are you honestly telling me that you're never going to take another person with you to the stars again?" she asks him, frowning.

The Doctor hesitates.

Christina nods. "I thought so. And you know what?" she continues, drawing so close to him that she can smell his scent of wood and rain and time. "I'm thinking that if you're gonna take someone with you to see all those amazing things, I want it to be me." She puts her hands on his chest, curling her fingers around the lapels of his suit jacket.

The Doctor squirms, looking uncomfortable. "Christina…"

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you don't want to lose anyone, and you don't want a relationship at the moment. So good thing for you," she chirps, jumping away from him, "I don't want a relationship either. I want a best friend, and I have no intention of being lost. But I _am_ coming with you."

"And what makes you think that?"

The thief grins and holds out her hand. "'Cause I've got your sonic screwdriver."

The Time Lord's hand flies to his chest pocket. "You—Oi!" he exclaims, looking indignant. "You can't do that!"

"Already did," she says, winking. "So here are my terms. You take me with you to see the stars, and I'll give it back to you. _After_ the trip's over. Otherwise…" She flips it in the air. "It's mine."

He runs a hand though his hair, disgruntled. "I can just make another one, you know."

"Ahh, but it won't be this one. And do you really want me running around with one of these?"

He tilts his head. "Fair point." Turning around, he unlocks the doors of the police box. "But you get one trip and one trip only! I mean it!" He glares at her. "Well come on then! You're not going anywhere except prison if you just stand there looking silly," he says, and walks into the box.

Christina looks behind her as Macmillan marches up to her. "He's right!" the detective barks. "You're _not_ going anywhere except for prison, and going into a box isn't going to help you. Even if it is a police box," he adds as an afterthought.

There's a huge grin breaking out upon her face, and the detective notices. "What's so funny?"

"What's so funny?" the Lady echoes, chuckling to herself. "What's funny is that even now, you still think you're going to arrest me. And I'm going to see the universe." She's laughing loudly now. "I'm going to see the stars!"

And with that, Christina de Souza leaps up to the blue box, opens the door, and disappears inside. The flustered police officer starts to protest, but his voice is drowned out by a loud whooshing noise that comes from the box as it fades from sight before his eyes.


	2. The Red Planet

The Doctor ran around the console of his ship, hitting controls and muttering to himself. Lady Christina stood by door, her eyes wide. "You know, when you said that your little blue box was your ship, I thought that sounded strange, but that's nothing compared to what it actually is."

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad. You'll get used to it!" the Doctor exclaimed. "After all, you just got off a flying bus that was sucked through a wormhole into a dead planet filled with metal carnivorous stingrays and talking flies."

"I suppose…" She turned around, taking in the sheer size of it all-the coral wall designs, the branch-like pillars, the chairs and the great circular console in the center. "Has it got a name? The ship, I mean,"

"Of course it does! I didn't tell you? Could've sworn I told you. She's called the TARDIS: Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Ooooh, and she _likes_ you, too! Hasn't made that purring noise since R—" He swallowed.

"What do you mean, she likes me?" she asked, climbing the steps onto the platform.

The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well, the TARDIS is alive, so she tends to form opinions on who I bring in here. Normally she doesn't say anything, but every now and then she'll tell me she approves of someone."

"Ahh, so I'm privileged, is that what you're saying?"

"Kind of, yeah."

Christina smirked. "So, maybe you'll want to keep me around, huh?"

He looked at her sternly. "You're having difficulty understanding the word 'one' in 'one trip,' aren't you?"

"I like to think that it's not too late to change something until it's already happened," the thief said, tilting her head and smiling serenely. The Doctor shook his head. He flipped a few more switches and then spun in a circle, a broad grin upon his face.

"So, one trip in all of time and space, where do you wanna go?"

"Well, you're the expert, Mr. Time Lord," she replied cheekily. "Where do you think we should go?"

"Weeeeell…" He ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up in even crazier angles. "I've been thinking of going to Raxacoricofallapatorius to check up on an old friend, or maybe to the Hemilligor asteroid belt-supposed to have a _fantastic_ view of the Deku palace coming around soon-no, wait, you're human! You'll like _this_ little sight a bit more!" The Doctor raced around the console, pulling levers and fiddling with knobs and even pulled out a hammer and wacked a few buttons. He turned back to bemused thief with a wild look. "Hold on tight!"

Christina yelped as the whole room jerked to the side and started to hum and shake. She dove to the railing on the platform, gripping the metal with all her strength for fear of being thrown across the ship and breaking her neck. "You'd think a living ship like this would travel a bit more smoothly!"

"Nah, where's the fun in that?" he called back, rolling across the floor.

After a few more moments of shaking, the TARDIS came to a shuddering halt and Christina breathed a sigh of relief. "Where are we then?"

The Doctor straightened from the floor, brushing off his coat and running his hand through his hair again. "Go outside and see! No, wait, don't do that, you'll suffocate and die. Here, go through the door over there, down the hall, first door on the left. You'll find a rack of spacesuits. The orange one's mine, you can have one of the white ones. Hurry up, bring 'em here, don't just stand there! Rassilon," he muttered as Christina ran off in the direction he'd told her. "She really can't take a hint."

* * *

Ten minutes later, both the Doctor and Christina were wearing their space suits and ready to leave. The Time Lord was wearing his usual orange suit, but Christina had somehow found a royal blue one (from where, he had no idea) and was fiddling with her gloves with a smug look on her face. The only thing she said when he asked was: "I don't like white-it's too flashy."

Smiling, he turned to the thief. "Are you ready?"

"Never been more."

"Then _allons-y!_ " he cried, and flung open the doors of the TARDIS with a flourish.

Christina felt her jaw drop as she stepped down from the police box. "The red planet," the Doctor said behind her. She swallowed nervously and, not wanting to take her eyes off of the amazing scene before her, whispered, "We're on Mars?"

"Yup, your own little Mars. I've seen a lot of planets, but this one has always been one of my favorites. Also, it's pretty close to Earth, so instead of going home and saying, 'I've been to Covarash Palvoon,' you get to say, 'I've been to Mars!' and everybody gets real impressed," he replied enthusiastically.

"If they even believe me. Mars…" the Lady murmured. She turned around in a slow circle, admiring the great red dunes that rose in towering peaks all around her. The rock formations were fantastic, forming great pillars and cave-like structures that all glowed a dim crimson in the light of the sun. There were no clouds or vegetation, just the raw and rugged scenery that seemed to stretch on forever. Christina started to walk forward, only to gasp in surprise when she found that it felt she was walking in water rather than through air. After a few steps, however, she grew used to it and began to amble over to a nearby cliff, grinning the entire time.

"Are you coming, or what?" she called over her shoulder.

"Gimme a minute, will you? I have to lock the TARDIS!"

"Well hurry up then!"

By the time the Doctor reached her, Christina had already reached the edge of the cliff, only to find out that it was in fact a crater. Inside it were five outlying domes and shuttle pads connected to a central dome by modular walkways. She looked at him with wide eyes as he came over looking annoyed. "I didn't know there were people on Mars," she said.

"People on Mars? What do you—"he broke off as he peered over the rim of the crater. "Oh, beautiful," he breathed, awed. The both of them were so occupied by the marvel in front of them that they failed to notice the noise of an approaching being until the Doctor felt something jab him in the back.

" **Rotate slowly**."

They did. To their surprise, a little robot stood in front of them. Christina would have like to ask what it was, but her attention was firmly held by the dangerous looking instrument held in its hand. It spoke again.

" **You are under arrest for trespassing. Gadget, gadget**."

The Doctor pretended not to notice the exasperated look that his companion was giving him as they were propelled into the crater.

* * *

The two of them were forced into the central dome, where they quickly took off their suits under the careful scrutiny of the little robot and placed them in a compartment in the wall. Once done, they walked down several hallways until they reached what appeared to be a command room filled with people. A blonde woman with her hair wound tightly into a bun and dressed in a combat uniform strode up to them and pointed a gun at their faces.

"State your name, rank, and intention," she ordered.

The Time Lord assumed a thoughtful expression. "The Doctor," he said slowly, "Doctor. Fun."

Christina snickered before schooling her features back into neutrality. "Lady Christina de Souza. Professional thief. Sightseeing, I guess."

Just then, a dark-skinned man ran into the room from behind several partitions, panting. "What the hell?" he exclaimed. "It's a man. And a woman! On Mars. How?"

"They ver vearing these things." A young woman with brown hair in a ponytail and a heavy Russian accent held up the suits that the Doctor and Christina had been wearing. "I have never seen anything like it."

"What did mission control say?" another man asked.

"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares," the woman holding the suits replied.

"If we could cut the chat, everyone," snapped the woman with the gun.

"Actually," the Doctor interrupted, "Chat's second on my list, the first being the gun pointed at my head. Which then puts my head second and chat third, I think. Gun, head, chat, yeah. I hate lists," he muttered to himself. "But you could hurt someone with that thing," he continued, gazing at the woman sternly. "Just put it down."

"Oh, you'd like that," she responded.

"Could you find me someone who wouldn't?"

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I give you my word," he said. "And forty million miles away from home, my word is all you've got."

"And you?" her attention snapped to Christina, who had been hoping to be ignored and let the Doctor do the talking. "You just admitted to being a thief. Why shouldn't I toss you in an isolation block?"

"I'm not gonna cause any trouble," Christina said, shaking her head. "He won't let me. And besides, it looks like I was an idiot and left my gear on the bus, so I'm not even properly equipped to break into anything. Not that it looks like there's anything worth stealing here anyway," she added, looking around the room.

The woman paused, considering, and with a huff of irritation lowered her gun and turned to a young man standing on the side, who was wearing a type of suit that covered his hands formed a vest-like protection over his chest as well. "Keep Gadget covering them," she commanded him.

" **Gadget, gadget** ," the robot said.

"Oh right, so you control that thing. Auto-glove response," the Doctor said.

"You got it. To the right," the man said, turning his right hand in that direction. The robot also turned right, saying " **Gadget, gadget** ," as it did so. "And to the left." He moved his other hand, and the robot copied him, once again saying " **Gadget, gadget**."

"Is that its name?" Christina asked, peering at the robot.

"Yup!" the man answered cheerfully.

The Doctor grunted. "Does it have to keep saying it?"

"I think it's funny," the man said.

"I hate funny robots, "the Doctor said, making a face.

A voice crackled out of a speaker in the device held in the commanding woman's hand. "Excuse me, boss," a girl said. "Computer log says we've got two extra persons on site. How's that possible?"

"Keep the Biodome closed," the blonde woman barked. "And when using open comms, you call me Captain."

"Yeah, but—" the voice was cut off as the captain ended the conversation with a flick of her thumb.

An older man stepped forward and started speculating, while Christina sighed and folded her arms. "They can't be World State flights, because we'd know about it. Therefore, they've got to be independents, yeah?" The Doctor started to fidget impatiently. "Was it the Branson inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years."

The twitchy alien lost patience and interrupted him. "Right, yes, okay, you got us. So, I'm the Doctor, and you are?"

"Oh, come on," the captain scoffed. "We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on planet Earth knows who we are."

"You're the first? The very first humans on Mars? Then this is—"

"Bowie Base One," they concluded in unison.

"Um, hello?" Christina said. "Care to fill me in? Bowie what now?"

The Doctor turned back to her. "Number one," he said. "Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater."

"Sorry, did you just say 2058? We're in the future?"

"Didn't I tell you that the TARDIS travels in time?"

"Yes, but you just said we were on Mars! You didn't mention anything about going to the future as well!"

The Doctor looked insulted. "Did you not want to travel in time?"

"I wouldn't have said no, but it's a little disconcerting to hear that not only am I on a different planet, I'm in a different time as well." She looked at him reproachfully. "You could have warned me."

The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck. "Well," he started, but the Russian woman cleared her throat. "Right! Bowie Base One. Wait," he said, gazing intently at the people in the room. "You've been here how long?"

"Seventeen months," the captain replied.

"2059. It's 2059, right now. Oh!" he yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "My head is so stupid, you're Captain Adelaide Brooke! And Ed. You're Deputy Edward Gold." He pointed to the older man. He began listing other names: "Tarak Ital, MD." The dark skinned man. "Nurse Yuri Kerenski." A quiet man gave him a bemused look. "Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich." The Doctor waved his hand at the woman holding the suits. He spun around to the boy controlling the robot. "Junior Technician Roman Groom. Geologist Mia Bennett," he said to a pretty mocha-skinned woman. For a brief moment, he was so very excited. To meet the people who had set the precedent for space exploration, who would usher in a golden era for the human race! But then images began flashing through his mind, images of articles about these people. Obituaries. He refocused on the geologist. "You're only twenty seven years old."

"As I said, Doctor, everyone knows our names," Adelaide said.

He looked at her sadly. "Oh, they never forget them." More images were blinking through his head, pictures of disasters and mushroom clouds. Suddenly he glanced around. "What's the date, today?" he asked urgently. "What is it? Tell me the exact date."

"November 21st, 2059."

Then, he remembered. _"Bowie Base Destroyed. World in Mourning. Nuclear blast crater- November 21 2059."_ He had been heartbroken when he read that article. "Right… Okay, fine."

"Is there something wrong?" Steffi asked.

"Doctor, why do you need to know the date?" Christina was frowning at him.

"What's so important about my age?" Mia inquired, confused.

"I… We should go. We should really go," the Doctor said, striding towards the door, only to look back at them with an expression of intense sorrow on his face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry with all of my hearts, but it's one of those very rare times when I've got no choice." He darted back towards them to shake all their hands. "It's been an honor. Seriously, a very great honor to meet you all. The Martian pioneers. Oh, Christina, you have no idea how lucky we are. Oh, thank you. Ah." He started to shake Roman's hand, but he had the auto-gloves on, so he patted Gadget instead. The robot responded with a " **Gadget, gadget.** " He then turned back to the captain and saluted her. "Thank you," he repeated. "Christina, we should really—wait, there's the other two. Hold on…" He thought for a second. "Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone."

Ed grinned and switched on the comms, saying "Maggie, if you want to meet the only new humans that you're going to see in the next five years, better come take a look."

A feral roar came over the speaker, causing the members of the expedition to give each other alarmed looks. "What was that?" Mia asked nervously.

"Oh, I should really go…" the Doctor said softly. Christina hurried over to him and whispered, "What's going on? The look on your face when they told you the date, and that weird sound—is something bad going to happen? Like on San Helios?"

He nodded slowly.

"But this is _Mars_ ," the thief protested. "Nothing big like that can happen here. Not so close to home."

"This is the future," the Doctor said. "You don't know what's going to happen. Many of humanity's defining moments are based off of tragic ones."

"What does that mean?" she tried to ask him, but the Time Lord's attention was focused on Captain Brooke and Ed. They were leaning over a computer, and the deputy was attempting to establish communication with the biodome, but without success. "Internal cameras are down."

"Show me the exterior."

The screen flickered on to show the lights going out one by one in the biodome. Adelaide looked up and said, "I'm going over. Doctor, with me."

The Doctor walked over anxiously. "Yeah, I'm sorry. Er, I'd love to help, but we're leaving right now. Christina, let's go."

Adelaide turned to Steffi. "Take their spacesuits, lock them up. Kerenski, Gold, watch her," she ordered, nodding her head at Christina. "This started as soon as you two arrived, so you're not going anywhere except with me, and I'm not taking both of you."

"Doctor…" Christina said, biting her lip.

"It's alright, just stay here. I'm sure you'll be fine. If anything does go wrong though, head straight for the TARDIS, you hear me? No matter what, if something bad happens, do whatever you have to do to get back."

"But what about you? Will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine, too. After all, it could be nothing, right? Just interference." He didn't look like he thought it was interference. The Time Lord was pale and wore an uneasy expression. "I've been in a lot of situations like this—I'm sure I'll be fine. Be right back, okay?" Before Christina could argue, he had run out of the room with the captain, the doctor, and the robot.


	3. The Waters of Mars

Christina was pacing. After everything she'd been through, from her life of thieving to San Helios, she thought she'd more than earned her fare share in the action. Coming to Mars was incredible; she'd always liked the Red Planet best out of those in her solar system, and being on the surface of it had far surpassed her expectations. And to think that she was in a different time as well—how could anything be better? But then they'd come to this place, and everything had gone to pieces. The strange people didn't trust her, the Doctor seemed to hardly remember she was even there, and to top it all off, she'd been put under guard and told to stay in a room without even something good to filch.

She sighed and strode over to a computer where Roman was directing Gadget. He was having a conversation with the Doctor, bantering back and forth about robots and dogs. She looked at the screen, which was showing the Doctor hurrying down a dark hallway with Adelaide and Tarak. The junior technician began warming up on the subject of worker drones when the captain cut him off with a snap.

"This channel is open for essential communications only."

The thief snorted and resumed pacing as Roman apologized. She got halfway across the room before Gold told her to stop, so she went to the far side of the room and leaned against the wall, listening to the Doctor and Adelaide's conversation. He seemed to be in awe of the woman, something Christina had never gotten a sense of when he spoke to her.

 _Then again,_ she mused, _I guess I didn't really do anything particularly deserving of being taken along in the first place. He wasn't even going to take me. He only did because I stole his… oh._ Her hand flew to her belt, and sure enough, the Doctor's sonic screwdriver was still there. _That's not good._

She opened her mouth to let the Doctor know that she still had it, but closed it again and hurried to the screen when she heard Adelaide gasp and the sound of the group in the tunnels running.

"It's Maggie," Adelaide said.

"Don't touch her!" the Doctor exclaimed.

"I know the procedure," Tarak snarled. "Maggie, can you hear me? It's Tarak. Maggie?" He turned her over carefully. "It's okay, she's still breathing. She's alive. Yuri," he spoke into his comm. "I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma. I need a full medpack."

From the sickbay, another voice crackled onto the comms. "I've got it. Medpack on its way."

"I'm going to help!" Ed cried.

"In the absence of the captain, you're in charge, sir!" Steffi protested. "You've got to stay in the dome." But he ignored her and continued heading for the exit.

"Wait!" Christina said. "Take me with you."

The deputy halted. "No way," he said. "You're staying here. I don't trust you."

"But I have to go. I have something important of the Doctor's; it's how he defends himself. You can watch me or even cuff me if you like, but you _will_ take me with you."

Gold glanced towards the screen, clearly torn. "Fine," he growled at her. "Hurry up. And if you make any sudden moves that don't involve running right next to me, I'll knock you out and I'm not apologizing later. Got it?"

"Perfectly," Christina replied, and together they ran out.

* * *

On the way to the tunnels, Christina and Gold met up with a panting Yuri, who was hauling along a stretcher with him. They didn't exchange a single word or even slow down, merely adjusted their positions so that Gold could help with the stretcher. In almost no time at all they had reached the tunnel where the captain and the Doctor were. Christina stumbled to a halt behind the Doctor, clutching her side and breathing heavily. Yuri ran over to a young woman lying unconscious on the floor, Ed right behind him.

"Don't touch her," the Doctor warned, glancing up at them. "Use the gloves." He did a double take. "Wait, Christina, why are you here? I told you to stay behind!"

"Ha…ha…" she wheezed, still out of breath. "And did you… honestly expect me to listen? Especially considering that you forgot this." She waved the sonic screwdriver in his face.

The Doctor scowled. "You shouldn't risk yourself just to be an errand girl." He snatched the screwdriver from her as Tarak and Yuri carefully hoisted Maggie onto the stretcher.

The thief shot him an appraising look."Why Doctor, I didn't take you for the overly cautious type. You were like this on San Helios too. You get to take all the risks, but I can't join you? How is that supposed to be fair?"

The Time Lord wore the same look on his face as he had when he'd refused to take Christina with him: haunted and filled with intense sorrow. "It's not," he answered softly. "But it's all I can handle anymore." He turned his attention back to the two arguing pioneers. Ed was protesting emphatically against the captain's decision to send him back.

"Captain, you're going to need me. Andy is the only other crew member out here, and if that wasn't an accident, then he's gone wild."

"You've deserted your post," Adelaide retorted. "Consider that an official warning. Now get back to work. Doctor!" she called as she strode down the hall with Tarak. The Doctor glared at Christina when she followed them, but didn't say anything.

They ran in stiff silence until they reached the Biodome airlock. Tarak immediately set about entering data into the computer while Christina tied her hair into a low ponytail. Suddenly, Steffi's voice crackled over the comm.

"Captain, that sound we heard from the Biodome. I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer it's…" she hesitated. "It's Andy. It registers as the voice print of Andy Stone."

"Understood. Double check, thanks."

The computer beeped. "Air pressure stabilized," Tarak said. One by one the searchers cautiously entered the Biodome, which was almost completely dark, save for a few dim lights among the plants and from the computers. Christina strained her eyes, trying to make out her surroundings, but to no avail. Once more cursing the fact that she had left her bag (with her night vision goggles) aboard the bus, she tailed the Time Lord, who had headed straight for the nearest computer terminal. Adelaide called out to Andy, ordering him to report, but there was no reply. The Doctor fiddled with the computer for a moment before losing patience and simply sonicing it, causing the lights in the room to come on. "There you go," he chirped.

"What's that device?" The captain frowned at him.

He opened his mouth to reply, but Christina beat him to it. "It's his _dear_ and _precious_ magical screwdriver that he uses to battle the demons of the universe."

"Oi! I prefer to think of myself as the maintenance man of the universe rather than the warrior, thank you very much. And it's not magical," he added with an uncomfortable glance at Adelaide. She ignored him. Walking through the now-visible garden, she barked over her shoulder, "Doctor, you stay with me. Tarak, go to External Door South. Make sure it's intact. And take the girl with you."

"Yes ma'am," the burly man said, and hurried away. "I have a name, you know," the thief muttered as she took off after him.

* * *

"Is she always that-that brusque?" Christina huffed as they half walked, half jogged down the leafy corridors.

"The Captain? Always. She takes her job seriously, especially when it comes to the safety of the crew. And this here?" he gestured around with one hand as they turned a corner. "This whole mess? It's the exact kind of thing she's been dreading from the very beginning. And we owe it to her to do as much as we can."

"Wow. Impressive loyalty." Suddenly, something erupted out of a bush in front of her, causing her to give a strangled yell and lash out with her fists. The physician spun around, only to snort as the terrified bird flew away.

"Scared of a sparrow, are we?"

Christina straightened and lifted her chin, trying to regain some of her dignity. "It was a BIRD. On MARS. Who in their right mind expects birds on Mars?"

"We brought them here to keep the insect population down. It's kind of relaxing to have them around. Reminds us of home."

Glancing around at the white walls and computer terminals, she said, "I'll bet you need that."

"Oh we do. Andy most of all. Always whining about how much he misses his dog and fresh air. Why he signed up for this, I'll never know." Tarak fell silent as the implications of his words hit them. Christina hoped he _would_ get the chance to know, but her hopes weren't too high.

Tarak called out to his colleague. "Andy? Andy!" Suddenly he halted, looking to the side. Christina stopped next to him. Standing in front of some trees with his back towards them was a man in a black coat who was soaking wet.

"Andy!" Tarak exclaimed, darting forwards while shining his flashlight on him. "There you are. Are you alright?"

Christina followed him with trepidation. Narrowing her eyes, she could see water streaming from Andy in small rivers, but there didn't seem to be a source. "Tarak, be careful…Something's not right with him."

Tarak didn't acknowledge the thief's words, but he did slow down, approaching Andy with more caution. "Andy. Andrew. Look at me."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Andy spun around and roared.

Christina froze. The man's face was completely wet, and his eyes had turned as white as marble. The skin around his mouth had turned gray and cracked like dry earth, his lips disappearing entirely. His mouth had become a gaping black hole from which a terrible noise was being issued. Before Tarak could do anything more than cry out, Andy had seized him. Christina leapt back and watched in horror as Andy grabbed the other man's head. Tarak let out a cry that broke off and began to gurgle. Not knowing what else to do, Christina bolted in search of a weapon and the Doctor. However, she only got about fifty feet down the corridor before she almost ran headlong into the Time Lord and the captain. The thief yelped and waved her arms wildly, trying to regain her balance.

"What are you doing?" Adelaide demanded, reaching for her gun. "Where's Tarak?"

"We ran into Andy. He grabbed Tarak and then… I don't know, but we have to help him!"

"Where are they?" the Doctor asked urgently.

"Down there," she said, gesturing behind her. "Make a left on the closest turn. But be careful! There's something really wrong with that bloke."

"Define 'really wrong'," the Doctor said as he and the two women ran down the hall.

"His eyes have gone all white and his mouth is grey and cracked and there's water pouring off of him like crazy."

"Oh, that's not good, that's _really_ not good, that's—" the three skidded to a halt. There, in front of the trees, was Tarak on his knees with Andy's hand on his head. Water was flooding from both of them. The Doctor raised his empty hands at the same time as Adelaide drew her gun. They spoke simultaneously, the former gently addressing Andy while the latter ordering him to surrender or else be shot. Christina had no idea if Andy could understand them even if they were speaking separately, but she had a feeling that this wasn't doing much to improve their relationship. To her great surprise, however, Andy released Tarak, never removing his gaze from the trio.

"There now," the Doctor said softly. "That's better, hmm? So, you must be Andy. Hello." He cautiously stepped forward.

Tarak slowly turned his head towards them. Christina inhaled sharply, biting her lip. The physician now bore the same white eyes and ruined mouth as Andy did.

The Doctor had clearly noticed the same thing. "We've got to go."

The three of them bolted, Andy and Tarak hard on their heels. Christina and the Doctor raced after Adelaide, depending on her knowledge of the layout of the Biodome to get them to safety. _Damn, those things can run,_ the thief thought distractedly as they navigated their way through the leafy labyrinth. _At least I'm getting a workout from all of this._

The airlock came into view as they rounded a corner. Putting on an extra burst of speed, they flung themselves through the doors just as their pursuers came up behind them.

"Set the seals on maximum!" the Doctor shouted. The doors closed a split second before Andy raised his hand and fired a jet of water at them.

"Bloody hell," Christina swore, gasping. Andy stopped firing and lowered his hand. The two contaminated men simply stood outside the door looking in through the window at them, unblinking.

Steffi's voice came on over the comm. "Captain, we need you back here."

Adelaide raised her communicator, not taking her eyes of the two men outside the airlock. "Just tell me that Maggie is contained. Can you confirm, Ed?"

"Confirmed. She's locked in."

She nodded slightly and began issuing instructions. Christina turned to the Doctor, who was studying the beings outside.

"Where's all that water coming from?" she inquired. "I mean, if they were soaked by something, it shouldn't be pouring out of them in that amount. And there was no water around that area for Tarak to get that wet."

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm not sure. I have a theory, but…" He exhaled deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "Just don't touch the water, alright Christina? Not one drop."

The captain finished giving orders and walked up next to them to gaze at Andy and Tarak. They were still standing motionless outside the door.

"Can you talk?" the Doctor asked them. Receiving no reply, he muttered under his breath, "Human beings are sixty percent water, which makes them the perfect host."

"What for?" Adelaide asked.

"I don't know. I never will. Because we've got to go." He looked at the blond woman. "Whatever's started here, I can't see it to the end. I can't." The pain in his voice was palpable.

"Er…Doctor…" Christina said nervously. "They're moving." The two men raised their hands and together aimed jets of gushing water at the door. "This thing's airtight, yeah?"

"And therefore watertight," the other woman replied.

The Doctor gazed intently at the streams. "It depends how clever the water is."

A great bang resounded through the room. "They're fusing the system," Adelaide gasped.

"Abandon ship!" the Doctor cried.

Once again, they found themselves running as fast as they could. As they reached the walkway, Christian glanced back to see Andy and Tarak forcing their way through the airlock and giving chase once more.

"They're coming!"

Neither of her companions responded, but their speed did increase. Christina kept looking over her shoulder to check on their pursuers, and was dismayed to find that they were gaining on them. Soon they reached the area where Gadget was standing guard. Abruptly, the Doctor stopped running and whipped out his sonic screwdriver. For the second time that day, Christina was forced to perform an inelegant flailing dance in order to avoid colliding with him. "What in blazes are you doing?"

"Doctor, we haven't got time," Adelaide agreed.

"They can run faster than us," he responded, sonicing Gadget. "We need a lift."

The robot twitched. **"Gadget, gadget."**

The Doctor climbed onto it. "Captain, get on behind me," he ordered. "Christina, you're fairly dexterous, climb onto the front, hold on tight, and don't get yourself killed. Oh, and make sure you don't block the camera."

The thief gaped at him. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Just do it! Hurry!"

"That thing goes at two miles an hour," Adelaide protested over Christina's dark mutterings as they both climbed on.

The Doctor gave her a look. "Not anymore. Trust me." He turned back around. "Christina, you ready?"

Christina was draped over Gadget's head in an extremely uncomfortable position, her body twisted so that she didn't obscure the camera's view. Her fingers clutched the robot's arms very tightly while she attempted to avoid being impaled by the variety of devices attached to it. "Doctor, what exactly do you mean, 'not anymore'?" She asked in a slightly strained tone.

"Hold on very tightly now."

 _"_ _Doctor, this not a good position to be in while travelling at unsafe velocities!"_

 **"** **Gadget, gadget,"** the robot beeped.

"Gadget, gadget." The Time Lord agreed.

"DOCTOR!"

The robot trembled and huge flames burst out of its exhaust, propelling them so fast that Gadget left burning tire marks. Christina was smashed into Gadget by the wind and clung to it for dear life, screaming bloody murder and cursing the alien that put her there. The act of insanity did achieve its goal, however: the two pursuing men were left far behind.

Gadget came to a sputtering halt just before they reached the Central Dome airlock. The instant Gadget stopped moving, Christina slid off its face and rolled over to the side, breathing heavily. "I…am going…to _murder_ you…" she croaked at the windswept Doctor, but he wasn't listening. He was attempting to coax the exhausted robot into the airlock.

"I thought you hated robots," Adelaide said.

"I do," he replied.

Christina heaved herself off the floor and saw Andy and Tarak coming down the hall fast. "OK, nice time's over," she muttered, and shoved Gadget into the airlock despite the Doctor's protests. She spun around and slammed the doors shut just as Andy and Tarak arrived.

For a moment, the three simply stood there, catching their breath. Then Christina mumbled something inaudible.

The Doctor inclined his head towards her. "What's that? Can't make out what you're—OUCH!" he yelped as the furious thief grabbed his ear and yanked hard on it.

"I _said,_ this place had better be safe, because I don't want them to kill you before I do!"

"We're safe," Adelaide said, "It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in." She eyed the struggling pair with cold disdain. "Do you really think that now is the time for this?"

"You would if you were the one dangling from that wretched robot," Christina countered coolly before she released the Doctor.

The Time Lord rubbed his ear ruefully. "That was entirely unnecessary, Christina. And Adelaide, water is patient. All it does is wait. It wears down the clifftops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water always wins." He looked back at the door. "Come on. We need to go."

 _Annnd we're running again,_ Christina thought. _Running, running, and more running. Is it always like this?_

As they sprinted down the seemingly never-ending passageway, Adelaide gave orders over the comms to her crew while the Doctor and the thief argued.

"I say, did you really need to pull my ear so hard?"

"Doctor dear, you just had me pull one of the craziest and most reckless stunts I've ever pulled in my life, and believe me, with my lifestyle, that's saying a lot."

"What about that mad jump of yours back on San Helios? How was this any worse?"

"I was prepared for that! I actually knew what I was doing! This?" Christina waved her hand at the robot that was following them. "I almost fell off twice! That was _not_ my cup of tea. What happened to all of that 'I don't want you taking risks' talk you were spouting earlier?"

He grimaced. "Well, you're already in a situation that's as risky as it's gonna get, you might as well get to enjoy yourself while you're at it. Then again, it's not like it was ever gonna work, keeping you away from danger," he added quietly. "That's just not how my life works."

"Less talking, more running!" Adelaide called over her shoulder. "We need to get to sickbay as fast as possible."

They ran a little longer before the Doctor could no longer control himself and broke the silence again.

"Blimey, it's a distance. You could do with bikes in this place."

"Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel," the captain said waspishly.

"Yeah, I know. But…bikes."

Christina rolled her eyes.


End file.
